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During today's WWDC 2018 keynote, Apple announced the next generation of its mobile software in iOS 12. Here are the biggest points of news for iOS 12:

PERFORMANCE

Apple is doubling down on performance with the aim of making devices faster and more devices

iOS 12 will be available on all the same devices that support iOS 11 - this includes devices that shipped back in 2013.

Apps launch twice as fast on devices running iOS 12 on even the oldest devices

AUGMENTED REALITY

A major update in iOS 12 is more AR support. Adobe took the stage to introduced simplified tools that will allow developers to create better AR experiences.

There's a new file format for AR, called USDZ, created in collaboration with Pixar.

A new app, Measure, will allow you to take measurements in real-time using an iOS device with AR. A demo was shown measuring a suitcase using just an iPhone X.

Support for shared experiences is announced - multiple users can see the same AR environment in real-time. This allows developers to create worlds that people can all see simultaneously.

LEGO took the stage to demo a shared AR LEGO app

PHOTOS

The Photos app gets new updates and features, starting with search. Search Suggestions will highlight things like key moments, places you've taken photos, business names, and events like concerts and sporting events. You can search for multiple terms, like surfing and vacation, to drill down into your library.

Effect suggestions give you reccomendations to edits you can make to your photos to make them even better.

Sharing suggestions will find people in your photos and allow you to share them with the folks who are in them. Shared photos are full resolution.

When you share, the receiver will also be given a suggestion to share photos from the same event with you.

SIRI

Siri Shortcuts allows you to pull in specific tasks from your apps. An example given was "I lost my keys" to have Siri activate your Tile hardware.

You can create your own Siri Shortcuts as well, so you can put together your own shortcut phrases.

A demo was shown using Siri Shortcuts - the user said "travel plans" and got their hotel reservation with an image, address, and check-in time from Siri

A "Heading Home" shortcut is able to set the home thermostat, play a podcast, send an ETA to a contact, and turn on a HomeKit fan. Very impressive stuff.

APPS

The News app gets an updated sidebar to make navigation easier

The Stocks app gets more granular vision to see stock performance. Apple News stories are now integrated into the Stocks app as well, giving you business news on the stocks that you follow.

The Stocks app now comes to iPad with iOS 12.

Voice Memos app also comes to iPad with iOS 12, with iCloud support built-in for syncing across devices.

iBooks becomes Apple Books with a redesigned app.

In iOS 12, CarPlay will support third-party navigation apps.

DIGITAL HEALTH

Do Not Disturb is updated to hide notifications at night, and in the morning hides notifications until you specify that you want to see them.

Do Not Disturb allows you to choose much more granular timeframes rather than just optimized for overnight.

Notifications can be turned on or off on a per-app basis right from the lock screen

Notifications can now be grouped by app, topic, or thread. With a swipe, you can dismiss an entire group of notifications.

A new feature called Screentime offers reports, giving a weekly summary that shows how you used your iOS device. This shows how much time you spend in each app, how often per hour you pick up your phone, and which apps are sending you the most notifications.

App Limits allows you to set a limited amount of time that you'd like to use specific apps per day.

Kids get activity reports too, and parents get reports on their own devices of their kids usage. Parents can also create downtime periods and app limits. This is setup through the Family Sharing interfaces.

MESSAGES

Animoji now support tongue detection for sticking tongues out

New ghost, koala, tiger, and T-Rex Animoji characters

Apple announces Memoji, allowing you to create your own customized 3D emoji character that looks like you

Memoji has a slick creator app to design your character

The Messages camera now includes effects, filters, stickers, and even Animoji and Memoji right in the camera

FACETIME

Apple announces Group FaceTime, which allows you to chat with up to 32 simultaneous participants

You can use both audio or video

FaceTime is integrated into Messages, allowing you to quickly do a Group FaceTime right from a group chat

A demo is shown, and as people speak, they become bigger on screen, or you can choose who to bring front and center

The same effects mentioned above in Messages also applies to the FaceTime camera

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I've teamed up with Huawei to give away a Mate 10 Pro smartphone for Father's Day! The Huawei Mate 10 Pro features impeccable build quality, the 6-inch Huawei FullView display, the Mate 10 Pro camera system developed by Leica, and more! If you're looking for an Android smartphone that lives up to the term "flagship" to give to the dad in your life, you can't go wrong with a Mate 10 Pro.

To enter, just use the widget below to manage your entries. Good luck to all who enter!

The Geared Up Giveaway is back! We're giving Geared Up subscribers the chance to win an Oculus Go headset. See the bottom of this post for details on how to enter the giveaway.

High-end camera maker Red unveiled a mysterious new smartphone this week, and Geared Up co-host Andru Edwards was there for the hands-on experience. He said the new phone has some cool and exciting features, but also some strange ones.

Plus, Microsoft is once again trying to take on Apple's dominance in the tablet market. But can a new line of Surface devices make a real change?

We also dive into the hype around the Tesla Model 3, which is now rolling out to customers. Andru ordered his Model 3 more than two years ago and is picking it up in just a few days.

Listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast app.

A few weeks ago, I produced a video giving you a look at Shuffle and both its Shuffle app and upcoming Shuffle PrivateLine app (embedded below) while outlining the massive privacy implications of using various 2nd phone number apps, which feeds into the current robocall epidemic we’re experiencing here in the US. Now, Shuffle is back with the results of even more custom research on this topic, and it’s eye-opening. If you feel like you’ve been getting nonstop robocalls lately, you’re not alone.

In fact, there were over 30.5 billion robocalls placed in the United States in 2017, an increase over the 29.3 billion in 2016. This isn’t something that’s slowing down, either, as December 2017 saw a massive 2.8 billion unsolicited (at best) or illegal (at worst) calls - that’s an average of 89.6 million every day, or 8.6 calls for every person.

Welcome to our MEGA Smartphone Giveaway! We are giving away three of the best smartphones of 2017 to celebrate the end of the year, and this is your opportunity to walk away with an iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and Google Pixel 2! Here is how it will work:

The first place winner gets to choose their pick from the 3 smartphones - iPhone X, Note 8, and Pixel 2

The second place winner gets to choose between the 2 that are left

The third place winner gets the remaining smartphone (The winner that chooses the iPhone may substitute an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus instead of the iPhone X if they prefer)

Big shout out to Erica Griffin and David Cogen (The Unlockr) for teaming up with me on this giveaway! Good luck to all! Which phone would you pick if you won? Do the Pixel 2 cameras call your name? Are you all about Face ID with the iPhone X? The stylus of the Galaxy Note 8? Let me know!

ZTE just launched the new Tempo X smartphone on Boost Mobile, and we've got one to give away to a lucky winner! If you're unaware, the ZTE Tempo X sports some great features without breaking the bank - in fact, it sells for just $59.99 currently! The Tempo X boasts a 1.1GHz quad-core processor alongside Android Nougat, a 5-inch FXVGA display, and even a microSD card slot that supports expansion up to 32GB. The phone will even work if you head to Mexico, with built-in roaming capabilities. You also get a 5 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front camera, and the Tempo X can even act as a mobile hotspot. Not bad at all for a budget device!

Use the widget above to enter the giveaway and manage your entries - good luck!

The Pixel and the Nexus are like brothers from another mother. On the one hand, you've got Google's best from last year and on the other, Google's best from this year. But how does the Nexus 6P stack up against the Pixel, one year later? Let's find out.

If you look at design, they're pretty far apart. The 6P's metal build with a visor up top is definitely premium but so is the Pixel's metal and glass combination. Their size comes down to personal preference but you can pick up the Pixel over the Pixel XL if size matters to you.

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to forget about the importance of privacy and security in this world of endless digital devices. More and more of our electronics are constantly connected to the Internet through cloud services, providing more and more entry points into our homes for those with nefarious intentions. McAfee reached out to me with some tips on staying secure when using different devices, and they’re good enough to be shared, as they just might help you avoid a privacy-related disaster. Additionally, McAfee is running a sweepstakes where the grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to Iceland. More details on that at the end of this article.

If you're looking for the best Black Friday 2016 deals for tech and gaming, I looked all over to find the best tech deals for Black Friday 2016 and I bring them to you in this video! I narrowed it down to great tech products like 4K TVs, Google Home, Xbox One bundles, and more - and then I also break it down by stores, including Target, Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, and Walmart. Any deals that are available online are linked below!

We are giving away two of the hottest smartphones on the planet right now - the iPhone 7 Plus and the Google Pixel XL! Each winner will get to choose whether they would like a 128GB iPhone 7 Plus, or a 128GB Google Pixel XL, and each winner will also get to choose the color that they'd like to receive. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up on all the latest tech reviews and gadget giveaways!

Big shout out to Candid for sponsorsing this giveaway - be sure to check out the video I did on Candid and their anonymous social networking app down below.

Enter to win using the Gleam widget below, and good luck to all who enter!